Coliseum site planning moves forward
OAKLAND >> While negotiations over the Oakland A’s planned waterfront ballpark continue to get most of the attention, the City Council is poised to move forward today with plans to redevelop the vast Coliseum site that’s been the team’s home for decades.
The council could enter into an exclusive negotiating agreement with one of two groups that are competing for the chance to redevelop the 100-acre property off Hegenberger Road.
The chosen group then would be given a year or 18 months to work out a deal to either buy or lease the city’s share of the Coliseum Complex site — the A’s own the other half — and redevelop it into a mixed-use project, according to a city memo.
At the end of that period, the city could choose to extend the negotiations, sign a development agreement to set the course for construction or end the talks and hit the reset button with other development groups.
Although the city’s staff has indicated there’s no rush to enter an agreement, Vice Mayor Rebecca Kaplan is urging her council colleagues to act now in determining the Coliseum’s fate.
“It is located in East Oakland, which has historically been underinvested and harmed by past decisions that undermined key community needs,” Kaplan wrote. “These communities are in danger of further disinvestment with the uncertainty of the Coliseum Complex’s future and risk losing jobs and economic opportunities if the site is not revived in a positive and effective way.”
The two groups courting the city want to transform the swath of property — which includes the Coliseum stadium that currently houses the A’s and once hosted the Oakland Raiders, and the Oakland Arena that once was home to the Golden State Warriors, as well as the parking lots around it — into an oasis containing different mixes of sports fields or arenas, affordable homes, office buildings, businesses and maybe a museum or two.
One group, the African American Sports and Entertainment Group, or AASEG, includes founding partner Ray Bobbitt, former Oakland city manager Robert Bobb, developer Alan Dones, sports agent Bill Duffy and consultant Shonda Scott in partnership with Black-owned investment firm Loop Capital. The group previously announced its intention to reel in a Women’s National Basketball Association expansion team run by Black owners to play in the Arena, and recently revealed that 14-year WNBA veteran Alana Beard would partner with it to lead that effort.
In interviews earlier this year, Bobbitt said AASEG also plans to build housing, office space, retail, a sports and entertainment hall of fame, and a stadium for an African American-owned NFL team at the Coliseum stadium. The group’s website also touts its vision of producing a college satellite campus or other academic center focused on sports and entertainment business to the site.
The other group is led by former A’s star pitcher and Oakland native Dave Stewart and certified player agent Lonnie Murray. They’re proposing to refurbish the Oakland Arena for concerts and music production, to add youth sports and recreation fields, and to build housing, a museum or library, a business incubator, office space, retail and restaurants.
The group recently announced it is partnering with Elaine Brown, a former leader of the Black Panther Party and currently the CEO of Oakland & the World Enterprises. According to its website, that company aims to build “forprofit businesses for cooperative ownership by formerly incarcerated and other people facing extreme barriers to economic survival and support those businesses to profitability.”
The group has also pledged to pay upfront a full purchase price of $115 million for the city’s share of the property.
Whichever group is chosen likely would have to partner with the Oakland A’s, which signed an agreement to buy a 50% share of the Coliseum site from Alameda County two years ago for $85 million.
The A’s have been tightlipped about their plans for the property. When they bought it, the A’s said their intent was to redevelop the Coliseum site into housing, retail, office and research campus space. They then offered to buy the city’s share so they could become the master developer of the entire property, but the city refused.
A team spokesperson did not immediately answer a request for comment on the A’s current plans for the site or willingness to work with whichever group co-owns or leases a share of the property. But so far, team President Dave Kaval and Major League Baseball officials have been adamant that the A’s won’t continue playing at the Coliseum after the lease expires in 2024 unless the new ballpark is under construction.
The A’s are still negotiating with the city to build a 35,000-seat waterfront ballpark, about 3,000 homes, hotel rooms, office space and an entertainment complex at Howard Terminal, near Jack London Square. The team is also exploring sites in Las Vegas and southern Nevada for a potential home.
In cautioning the council against choosing a development group now, city staff noted in a memo that more time is needed to assess each group’s credentials and finances.
The staff recommends waiting until January to take action. Today’s council meeting starts 1:30 p.m. and can be watched online at https://oakland.legistar. com/calendar.aspx.